OhBoy! sign deal with Alcopop! Records

Purveyors of noisy alternative pop OhBoy! have signed to Alcopop! Records who will this month release their new single The Carrot And The Stick.

Last year saw the Northampton five-piece win fans across the county, record a session at Maida Vale and play major festivals as well as being play-listed on Radio X and stack up a wealth of plays on BBC Radio 1.

Speaking about the new single, singer Jay Brook said: “It’s slightly different to what we’ve been doing, it’s more pop.

“That was just enough to make me write a cynical, cross, song about him.”

“It took us a while to put something out after God, Look After The Quiet Kid because I wanted to release something which felt like an adequate follow up.”

Guitarist Lee Irons said: “What we’ve done before is just straight up just noisy pop. This time we thought, let’s make it less noisy and more pop.”

Alcopop! Records has previously released music by Johnny Foreigner, Sam Duckworth and Tellison, picking up awards along the way.

Jay said: “I’ve always liked what they have put out and liked Jack who runs it.

“I drunkenly met him when we played 2000trees and he said what he heard from our tent, which was about half a mile away, was alright. I saw that as a window.”

Jay wrote to the label explaining his desire to work with someone who would put out a single but also help the band work towards releasing an album.

Jay and Lee are joined in OhBoy! by bassist Dan Battison, guitarist and backing singer Meg Amirghiasvand and drummer Mark Nicholas.

“Alcopop does what major labels don’t,” explains Jay.

“It is the only place where you can go and they believe in taking time and building.

“I’m under no illusion. We’re not The 1975 or a bunch of kids shaking their asses.

“We’re not Topshop models, I won’t ever be that. Lee certainly will never be that.

“Alcopop! believe in nurturing the band and the artist.

“Damon Albarn said after Blur’s first album, if they were on a major label now they would have been dropped. That’s how cut-throat it is on a major.

“Because of me and Lee’s significant want, and need, to do things which are sometimes uncommercial it’s a much better thing to work with someone like Alcopop!”

The pair admit the success OhBoy! has had in the last 12 months was beyond expectations.

“We don’t see ourselves as that much of a commercial band,” explains Jay.

“At the beginning we said, ‘it’s about doing cool stuff’, none of which we believed was possible.

“We constantly feel like gutter boys, a bunch of chancers.”

Lee adds: “It’s a nice place to be as we can’t be comfortable or complacent.

“At 2000trees, we just got there and played. Other bands had crew and busses, we just took our mate Nik from Century City for the ride and to tune our guitars.”

“We’re music fans first and making music is second, if we can go and see great bands play live at festival for free, that’s amazing. That’s why I do it,” adds Jay.

“When I’m writing, I constantly feel I could write something better, I think if I ever loose that feeling, I might just quit,” he concludes.

OhBoy! are in the process of demoing songs for their debut LP and putting together more live dates for 2016, with Jay adding the band would rather play shows they genuinely want to play, “rather than getting a 28-date tour but playing to no-one”.

They play in London at The Windmill in Brixton on January 23 and The Social on February 15 before supporting Pins at The Garibaldi in Northampton on February 20.

The Carrot And The Stick is out digitally on January 22 with a t-shirt and digital download bundle also available.